Browns cornerback Joe Haden is among several athletes to buy promissory notes from Success Trade. (Getty)

On the heels of regulators red-flagging a potential $18 million scam last week, multiple federal agencies are probing investments sold to NFL and NBA players, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

According to multiple sources that spoke to Yahoo! Sports on the condition of anonymity, several professional athletes have either been contacted or been urged to contact investigators from the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Three sources also told Yahoo! Sports that the NFL Players Association has asked a handful of its athletes with investments tied to Jade Management to contact FBI investigators. Jade previously managed finances for dozens of professional athletes, and had investment ties to Success Trade – a firm that came under fire from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) last week. Success Trade was ordered to halt fundraising last week after allegedly selling $18 million in fraudulent and unregistered promissory notes to 58

Getty ImagesFinancial regulators overseen by the U.S. government have ordered an investment firm with prominent NFL and NBA clients to halt fundraising after allegedly selling $18 million in fraudulent and unregistered promissory notes.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has accused Success Trade Securities and its owner, Fuad Ahmed, of lying about key facts surrounding investments secured by 58 clients. FINRA did not release the names of the athletes ensnared in the scam, however, an 18-month investigation by Yahoo! Sports determined that a large portion of those involved were players represented by Jade Private Wealth Management.

While Jade’s client list has fluctuated, the investment firm boasted more than 70 NFL players at one point, including among others, Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden, New York Giants wideout Victor Cruz, San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, as well as former stars such as running back Clinton Portis and defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

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One year ago, Everette Scott was under federal indictment for fraud. Months after that indictment, the NFL Players Association certified him to continue his career as an NFL agent. Now he has been convicted and is scheduled for sentencing in September, and the NFLPA is declining to comment on it.

Scott and a co-defendant were convicted early last week of defrauding investors of more than $5 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Scott was found guilty on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, after he and his his co-defendant Tryone Gilliam solicited and misappropriated investor funds that Gilliam used to buy luxury cars, jewelry, and other items. Prosecutors also said Scott and Gilliam produced falsified bank records and made false statements to investors in an attempt to conceal the fraud.

Despite the charges against Scott, the NFLPA decided he was fit to remain an agent, re-approving him for business after the lockout and decertification of the

DeMaurice Smith (Getty Images)

By Rand Getlin and Jason Cole

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith referred long-time former colleagues to defend Drew Rosenhaus during an NFLPA arbitration, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

That action has ruffled the feathers of multiple prominent agents who spoke to Yahoo! Sports on the condition of anonymity, expressing frustration at what they termed a significant conflict of interest. The agents have alleged that Smith’s referral – essentially aiding Rosenhaus in defending himself before an NFLPA arbitrator – is a clear example of Smith protecting an agent rather than impartially governing.

“It’s a major conflict of interest for the executive director of the NFLPA to be referring attorneys to Rosenhaus,” one agent said.

The paramount issue at hand is that the NFLPA may eventually have to sanction Rosenhaus in his case, which involves a dispute between the well-known agent and former employee Danny Martoe. Martoe was a longtime employee of Rosenhaus Sports

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In a small way, your college football team is likely cheating every game day. At least, that’s what a long-tenured college football equipment manager believes.

With the college football season coming to a close, we conducted a Q&A with an equipment manager about some of the white lies and misdemeanors that occur in the sport. Specifically, the focus was to revisit the football-deflating fiasco at USC earlier this season, when an allegedly rogue student manager for the Trojans was busted and dismissed for deflating footballs in a loss to Oregon.

While not exactly a high crime in the eyes of fans, tampering with balls is something the NCAA and member conferences take seriously. And it got us wondering how often such low-tech cheating takes place. The question brought us to a longtime equipment manager who agreed to talk about the sideline shenanigans – so long as we didn’t identify him or his team. What we can say is that his resume includes longtime employment in a power conference,

Martin was certified as an NFL agent in 2006 - one year before becoming a BTN game analyst. (Big Ten Network)An NFL agent who has represented at least 12 players – including four former Big Ten players – has been working as a game analyst for the Big Ten Network, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

Chris Martin, who played cornerback for Northwestern University from 1992-95 is now listed as the President of OTG Sports Management, based in Evanston, Ill. Martin was also certified as an agent by the NFL Players Association in 2006 and later hired by the Big Ten Network to serve in an on-air capacity in 2007. In addition to his role as a game analyst, Martin also appears on BTN’s “Football and Beyond” and “Big Ten Football Report.”

The dual positions of agent and BTN analyst has rubbed some agents the wrong way, and led to complaints that Martin is unfairly positioned to sign clients through his TV role. When contacted by Yahoo! Sports, a BTN spokesperson said the network was unaware that Martin was also an agent, and said it would take action to resolve what it viewed as a conflict of interest.

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Myck Kabongo hasn't played this season.

Myck Kabongo’s season-long NCAA ban is under expedited appeal.

A source familiar with the University of Texas point guard told Yahoo! Sports that Texas appealed the NCAA's season-long ban on Thursday. Texas officials had a dialogue with the NCAA's eligibility committee on Thursday as part of the appeal. The school and player are now awaiting the outcome of that appeal, which could come as soon as Friday. The Longhorns have sought to have the star point guard immediately reinstated, but Texas could also achieve a reduction in Kabongo's suspension.

Sources with ties to the Texas basketball program told Yahoo! Sports that Kabongo was suspended for the remainder of the season on Wednesday. The suspension stemmed from inaccuracies in his interviews during an NCAA probe into Kabongo’s relationship with an agent and an alleged predraft workout in Cleveland last May.